Horray some actually plot moving slowly forward this time rather then just PWP like last chapter. I'm going to try to get all of the rest of what I have written so far typed before Thursday when I leave for Vermont for a short while. And while I am away I am going to try to finish writting this story. That is the plan anyways. But right now I am to tired to continue any longer, please enjoy what I did manage to get posted!
XIII
Ronon hardly saw Elizabeth during the next few days. She hadn't left her room since getting her hands on the map and Ronon purposely kept away from her, not knowing how to treat her after their night together.
Now he paced outside her door wondering what to do. He could sense her frustration. It was very slow going for her being isolated on a ship in hyperdrive, away from her laptop and other tools that would have made the translating go faster.
Elizabeth looked up and scowled at the door. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that Ronon was standing just on the other side. She shook her head to dismiss the idea and tried to focus back on her work. Finding she couldn't, she stood up with a resigned sigh and stalked over to doo, planning on hunting Ronon down and asking exactly how long they were to be stuck on this ship, only to jump back in surprise upon finding Ronon on the other side of the door.
Elizabeth leapt back with a yelp, "God Ronon. What are you doing here?"
Ronon stared at her, feeling the irrational urge to kiss her again.
"Ronon?" Elizabeth noticed him staring at her lips and she fought not to blush.
He dragged his eyes back up to meet hers, blinking away his stupor. "Um. We'll immediately enter the orbit of a world with a Stargate. We can then land and hail Atlantis. But we must move fast if we want to keep the ship before the pirates get a lock on our location."
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, "Will you be able to fly the ship?"
Ronon grinned at her, "Is that your way of asking if I can land without crashing and burning?"
Elizabeth smiled tentatively back at him, "I have faith in your abilities." After rolling up the map, she followed Ronon back to the bridge.
There was a beep from the main consol and Ronon bounded over to it to read the data running across the screen. "We're emerging from hyperspace," he informed her.
Elizabeth watched as the vortex they were traveling through dissolved back into real space. "You might want to take a seat," Ronon called to her over his shoulder, busy with the controls.
Elizabeth threw herself into the nearest chair and braced for the turbulence of entering the planet's atmosphere. It never came. She was slightly shocked at how at ease Ronon appeared to be at maneuvering the large ship towards the planet's surface- single handedly. Within twenty minutes he had set the ship down in a large field meters from the Stargate.
"We must move quickly now that we are out of hyperspace, it won't be long before they get a lock on our position."
"Yes I know. We've been over this before," Elizabeth snapped.
Ronon gave her a hard look then left the bridge at a furious pace. Elizabeth heaved a sigh and sprinted after him calling, "Ronon slow down. I can't keep up with this pace and I have no idea where I'm going."
Ronon doubled back to her with surprising speed and before Elizabeth had the chance to open her mouth, he had hoisted her over his shoulder and began running again.
"Ronon!" her shout was muffled with her face pressed into his back, "I'm perfectly capable of running myself."
"Not fast enough," he huffed out, "Stop struggling, you're slowing me down."
Resigned, Elizabeth relaxed in his grip, fuming on the inside at being handled in such an undignified manner. Abruptly Ronon stopped and allowed Elizabeth to slide down his body, both moaning quietly at the prolonged contact. Ronon could feel himself being to react to her close proximity and he quickly thrust Elizabeth away from him. Elizabeth quickly turned her back to hide a blush, embarrassed that he could arouse her so easily and quickly.
"Stay here," Ronon ordered gruffly as he unholstered his gun. He stuck his head out of the hatch door, scanning the surrounding area for any threat.
Turning back to Elizabeth he said, "We're clear. Lets go."
They ran down the ramp and across the hundred meters of field to the DHD. Elizabeth punched in the symbols for Atlantis while Ronon pulled out the GDO to give his code. The wormhole engaged and they stepped through the horizon.
XIV
John Sheppard was in the control room when the Stargate activated.
"Who is it?"
"Reading Ronon's ICD code sir."
John's eyes lit up, "Good. Let him in."
He strode over to the balcony overlooking the gateroom to welcome Ronon home. "Ronon, buddy, it's good to-" John stopped suddenly, catching sight of the figure behind Dex.
"Elizabeth?!" John shouted, incredulous.
She stepped out from behind Ronon smiling somewhat shyly, conscious of the complete hush in the gateroom and the stares she was receiving.
John was shocked at his leader's appearance – tight leather pants with one of Ronon's guns strapped to her thigh- and damn she looked good. Elizabeth, however, decided to ignore the stares and fell right back into her role as leader of this expedition.
"Get Rodney in here right now. We have a fully armed ship on the other side of this wormhole and if we want to keep it, we need to disable the tracking device and get the ship off that planet before it's swarming with pirates."
"You stole a pirate ship?!" John was still in shock, "That's what you did when I lost you off world?!"
Elizabeth wanted to laugh at the look on John's face, and only years of diplomatic experience allowed her to keep her features composed. "Yes," she replied evenly. She nodded at Ronon standing next to her, "With the help of Ronon of course."
"Of course," John echoed quietly still focused on how sexy Elizabeth Weir looked in those leather pants.
Ronon noticed the Colonel's look and couldn't stop the soft growl from the back of his throat. He wished he could take Elizabeth in his arms right there in the center of the gateroom and kiss her- hard, possessively- let them all know she was his. But no matter how hard he wished it, she wasn't his. After their one wild night together she could barely look him in the eye. And yet he desired her all the more that she was so unattainable.
Elizabeth, who hadn't noticed the looks she was receiving from both John Sheppard and Ronon Dex, had continued on to explain the map she and Ronon had recovered and how it was the link to the ZPM Atlantis sorely needed.
By then Rodney McKay had rushed into the room with Zelenka in tow and things had to be explained again before the Canadian had begun ordering people about in a frenzy, so excited was he about a new ship to tinker with. In the end Sheppard's team plus Lorne to fill in for Ronon, would take a small group of marines and scientists to fly the ship back to Atlantis, while John, Telya, and Lorne would come back through the Stargate.
X-X-X-X-X
Elizabeth sighed and repressed the urge to bury her head in her hands. All she wanted was to go to her quarters, shower all the grime off, fall into bed for some blissful, uninterrupted hours of sleep, and forget all about the crazy adventure she had just had with Ronon Dex. Ronon- she had to forget the night they had shared, the way his consuming kisses made her fell, how good it was to be wrapped in his embrace – No! She had to forget those things.
She focused her attention back on the briefing going on before her, Ronon was just finishing his account of his time with the pirates before he had met up with Elizabeth. Thankfully he made no mention of her almost rape and she didn't either as she picked up where Ronon left off.
"The pirate queen invited us back to her quarters to discuss some issues with Ronon, where he over powered her, we saw the map and took it, then stole the ship to escape." Elizabeth ended her story. She had left out a lot including the humiliating slave's costume she had to wear and the intimate moments forced upon her and Ronon. As far as they were concerned, Elizabeth had no problems with letting them think she had only played servant to Ronon, not sex slave.
Ronon said nothing about her less then complete account and only nodded his affirmation to her story. John was staring at her like he didn't fully believe her, but he trusted and respected her enough not to voice his disagreement.
Quickly Elizabeth turned the group's attention to the map and away from her lacking story. Unrolling it, she said, "I tried to translate it, but the going was slow. Hopefully with the aid of the Ancient database I'll be able to translate it with more ease and we can recover the ZPM." John, Teyla, Carson, and Ronon all agreed and the meeting disbanded.
Teyla caught up to Elizabeth not far from the conference room. "it is good to have you Dr. Weir. We were all worried about you, especially John."
Elizabeth gave Teyla a small smile to reassure her and hid her exhaustion and boiling emotions from the observant woman. "Thank you Teyla, it is good to be back. Please forgive me, but I'm very tired. I am not used to all that running about on missions like you are."
Teyla laughed softly but her eyes were concerned as she watched the strong leader of Atlantis walk away. She knew something had happened on their "adventure", something Ronon and Elizabeth were hiding and that worried her greatly.